4th of July Fireworks

I'm not sure why I thought this would be fun. 🤔...😂

A few years ago, I created a design that reminded me of fireworks. I've stitched this project in a couple of different ways: once using a wild variegated floss and another time with red, white, and blue colors. I liked both versions, but I started wondering, what if I could make the fireworks sparkle? Ooh... Ahh... Right?

After some searching through my craft room, which looked like it had been hit by a tornado, I found a few metallic threads. I didn’t have exactly the colors I wanted, but I settled on two that I liked together.

If you've ever worked with metallic thread, you know it can be tricky. However, for the right project, I actually enjoy using it. But here’s where things got sticky, literally. I wanted to use the metallic thread against a black background for a night-sky effect. So, I printed my pattern on Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy (also known as stick-and-stitch or print-and-stitch). I love this product, and it works well on black fabric too. However, it has a few drawbacks. One issue is that, since it’s water-soluble, it doesn’t perform well in humid conditions, and yesterday was quite humid. To make matters worse, our air conditioning was out, which meant there was around 80% humidity in the house.

I was hot and tired, and looking forward to some stitching, so I didn’t even consider how difficult it would be to combine metallic thread and Fabri-Solvy on a humid day.

It didn’t take long for the Fabri-Solvy to start breaking down and become really sticky. My needle became so sticky that it clung to my fingers. The thread also started getting tacky and was pulling apart. To make things worse, I hadn’t trimmed the Fabri-Solvy, so it draped over my hoop, making it sticky as well.

The worst part of all this is that I know better. I just got so excited about stitching that I didn’t think it through. The good news is that a little warm, soapy water typically cleans up the sticky residue. If that doesn’t work, rubbing alcohol will do the trick.

I’m not particularly happy with how this project is turning out at the moment, but I believe the white color of the Fabri-Solvy is what's throwing me off. It’s a fairly simple project, and I don’t have much left to do. I plan to finish it up and share the final results in part two.

The sun was really making the thread sparkle, but I couldn't get the camera to pick it up.